‘God Jól’ since the Viking Age

If you come to Fjord Norway in December, you will get a chance to experience many of our Christmas traditions. The ‘julebord’ (Christmas party) season is in full swing from October to December, which will give you plenty of opportunity to taste our Christmas fare. Get ready to celebrate Christmas like a real Viking! Most people now associate Christmas with the birth of Jesus, but before Christianity came to Norway, the Vikings celebrated the heathen festival ‘Jól’. The winter was long and dark, so on midwinter day on 12 January, when the sun was on its way back, the Vikings celebrated their ‘Jól’ to brighten the dark season. Families, friends and neighbours gathered and feasted on the best food and drink they had. Like everything else the Vikings did, this celebration was far from tame. The mortal sin of gluttony was committed with barbaric fervour for three days on end. Give that some thought when you order a traditional Christmas dish in the world’s most beautiful scenery.

Food for everyone, from everyone

If you are going to eat like a Viking, you don’t have to wait to be served dish after dish. Everything is put on the table in the form of a buffet. This is in keeping with the Vikings’ celebration of ‘Jól’, which was often a shared effort where everyone brought something along. A feast of this size over a number of days was not something you could put together on your own. Family, friends and neighbours therefore brought meat, fish, beer and mead, and then, as now, the menu featured local food.

Although ‘pinnekjøtt’ (salted, dried mutton ribs) is the most common Christmas dinner in Western Norway today, the Vikings preferred the high-status meat pork. Fallen warriors could feast on pork every day after their death, according to the Norse faith. Indeed in Norse mythology, a pig called Særimne lived with Odin in Valhalla, and when a piece of pork belly was cut from the pig, it grew back. This meant that one pig could feed all the dead warriors Odin called home.

Now, as already mentioned, ‘pinnekjøtt’ is the firm favourite, but a wide variety of Christmas fare is available in Western Norway. Old traditions meet new traditions, local customs are inspired by international rituals, and they all come together to give us a unique and varied Christmas celebration.

‘Drinking Christmas’ in modern times

Good drinks are an important part of Christmas now, as they were back in the Viking Age. You will find Norwegian Christmas beers in most bars and restaurants, echoing the history of the Vikings. When the Vikings celebrated Christmas, or ‘drank jul’ as Harald Fairhair called it, drinking toasts was an important part of the celebration. Drinking horns had to be raised, the gods had to be thanked and mead had to be downed in one go. The first toast was always to Odin - the Allfather, the chief of the gods and the god of the chieftains. This toast was for ‘victory and power’, and meant that the Christmas celebration could begin. The second toast was for Njord, god of the sea, who assured sailors a safe passage and bountiful fishing. The next toast was for Frøy, god of fertility, who bestowed a long, prosperous and happy life. People often made a toast to Brage, god of skaldship, to ensure the entertainment and festivities were on a par with the food and drink. So check out the programme of cultural events and concerts between October and November. There are a lot of great acts to choose from in the run-up to Christmas.

Regardless. When we drink in Western Norway, we are standing on the shoulders of giants. Whether you’re a beer drinker or a wine drinker. So raise your glass, bottle or drinking horn and make a toast to someone you appreciate. Those who are particularly interested can go on a beer and food course, or on a guided walk where beer is an important ingredient.
The many local breweries in the area are also great at conjuring up fantastic kinds of Christmas beers.

From the Vikings’ ‘jól’ to our modern-day ‘jul’

A lot has changed, but many wonderful traditions have survived. In the 10th century, people started calling the Christian festival ‘jul’, and celebrating it on the 24th of December. The celebration itself remained much the same, but the symbolism was now linked to Christian traditions. However, good company, and great food and drink remained the most important elements.

Today, you can experience our ‘jul’ through the ‘Lysfesten’ festival of light in Bergen or its popular Gingerbread Town. And it still brightens a dark time of the year. Go Viking in the fjords - and experience our Christmas traditions in the fjords.